Black and White
by MagdalenaTR
Summary: Modern P&P Bianca is an aspiring artist on summer break. After meeting new people, Bianca realizes that it takes more than an artist to judge between black and white.
1. Chapter 1

I'm an artist. Not one of those crazy 'the world's my canvas' type, but really more of an aspiring one. I've loved drawing, painting, anything, ever since I can remember. I guess because of that, I'm not a very social person. I mean, I'd rather spend a night drawing than to go to a party. I'll go to them once in a while, but on special occasions. People who know me realize I'm not much of a party girl, so they just let me be. Me and my sketchbook.

"Bianca, get a move on it!" That would be my dear little sister, Amy. Actually, I can't say little truthfully. After all, she's only a few minutes younger. However, even though we are twins, we couldn't be more different. She is more of a party girl than I am. Not that she parties a lot, but she's just more… sociable.

I stand up, looking longingly at my tablet and the drawing on the screen. This is one of those special occasions. We are going to our end of year party. No more classes till next year. Vacations. Finally.

Going into the room I share with Amy, I see she has already laid out a black strapless dress on the bed for me. Actually, it's the only dress I have that wouldn't be considered from the 12th century. In any case, I don't see why the party even had to be formal. I guess some of the girls just haven't been invited to enough weddings this year, hence not having an excuse to show off their… I can't say dresses, considering how much they cover, but you get the idea.

Back to my clothes, I head for my closet and dig through the drawer, hoping to find one of those useless strapless bras. Okay, maybe not useless, but I really don't exactly like them. I'd much rather be wearing one with decent straps, covered by a decent shirt. Amy, on the other hand, basks in the glory of those things.

I unceremoniously pull off my shirt and jeans and step into the dress.

"Amy!" I shout unnecessarily, as it turns out she's standing behind me.

She rolls her eyes at me and answers "What?"

"What do I wear on top of this so as not to freeze?"

"Umm… a shawl?" I roll my eyes in turn.

"A little more specific, if you will?"

"Oh, I don't know. Go look in Mom's closet." Well, that was helpful. Not that I really expected much help. After all, she, unlike me, has a decent internal thermostat and doesn't freeze on summer nights.

Surprisingly, in thirty minutes Amy and I are ready. We just need the keys to our car, and believe me, that's not as easy as it sounds when Amy was the last to drive. She has to dump out her entire purse and rummage around, only to remember later that, for some reason, she left them in the bathroom. She isn't exactly messy, but her head is in the clouds at random moments of the day. I suppose that has something to do with the fact that she's an aspiring writer, and some plot or other pops into her head.

It's actually kind of cool that I like drawing and she likes writing. We want to do a children's book together. I don't think it'll happen any time soon though, as we are both rather busy studying. I'm actually studying art, but Amy is into some sort of math and engineering thing I can never remember the name of. Not that I try very hard. She'll always be a writing mathematician wannabe to me.

"Aha!" I hear Amy declare. I turn to look at her and see she has the keys dangling from her hand.

"Where did you leave them this time?"

"My shoe…?"

"Whatever. I though artist where the ones with their heads in the clouds!" I tell her, laughing. She joins in. I always say that to her when she loses something. That is to say, quite often.

I reach forward and grab the keys. I really don't know why we don't have a second set. Then, I pick up my purse and shout goodbye to anyone who will listen. One last peek into the mirror, a tug or two from Amy, and we are off.


	2. Chapter 2

It's much too crowded in here. The party is, ironically, on campus. What's the point of celebrating that there are no more classes when you are still in the place you always have to be when you don't want to? We are stuffed into one of the larger auditoriums. The seats actually hide when pushed back, making what would be a large space if it wasn't for the fact that there are like a thousand people. Literally.

I look around for familiar faces, but they are scarce. Amy is already mingling happily with her mathematician nerds. Okay, they aren't nerds, but that's what I call them to annoy Amy.

Where are all the artists?

Maybe we weren't invited, since according to quite a few people, we are really on vacation year round. I'm just starting to consider leaving when I hear a voice calling out my name.

"Bianca Wilkins, where have you been?" I turn to find none other than my dear friend and fellow artist, Samantha Campbell.

"Hiding under the table, of course," I reply, rolling my eyes playfully and giving her a hug. "Actually, I was looking for you, you dolt."

"Dolt?" she eyes me with an amused expression.

"Yes, I just called you a dolt, okay?" We stare at each other for a couple of seconds and burst out laughing. When we are together, it seems all our supposed maturity goes out the window. We act like three year olds who can talk. When we finally stop laughing, we decide to head over to the food and drink area.

"Sam," I say, picking up a little canapé looking thing, "want some boogies?" She eyes what I'm holding.

"Nah, you go ahead." I stick out my tongue at her and eat the green thing. That is to say, avocado, with something or other on top.

"Hey, it's not bad for a boogie," I tell her, once again giggling. She gives in and grabs one while pretending to stick a finger up her nose. Three year olds, right? We each grab another and start walking away, still laughing randomly.

"You know, I think these boogies are actually quite good."

"Which ones, the ones in your nose or the others?"

"Then ones in my nose, of course!"

"Oh, okay, that's what I thought." Still immersed in our silly rambles, I feel someone bump into me. Or maybe the other way around. Well, in any case, the fact is I am suddenly smashed up against a tall person with avocado and a beautiful scowl on his face. Wait a second, beautiful scowl? Yeah, moving on… I feel my face heat up as I look at the guy and start to step away.

"I'm so sorry," I mutter, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

The guy eyes me as he takes the avocado off his face and replies "Clearly. You were much too busy talking about, what was the word, _boogies_. For goodness sake, not even three year olds say that." Okay, so maybe we act like two year olds. Anyhow, back to the guy, what the crap is his problem? And why was he listening to what Sam and I were talking about? Some people are creepy. Clearly.

"Here," he says, and I automatically extend my hand. He drops the avocado slices in my hand, turns and walks away. I stand in a sort of stupor for a few seconds until Sam pulls me out of my reverie.

"What was his problem? You said you were sorry, it was clearly an accident."

"Yeah… some people are like that. Do you know who he is? He looked like one of those constipated lawyer wannabes."

"No clue. I doubt the guy has any friends if he's always like that. In any case, I think there's a trashcan over there, so you can take care of his _boogies_." At this, we once again start giggling like crazy. Maybe I should have smeared the avocado on his tux.

"Okay, let's stop it with the boogies," I say once I manage to. "How about we go and dance? That way I'll be able to say I danced and tell the truth at the same time." I don't dance much. It's not that I dislike doing so, but I'm usually too self conscious to feel okay with doing so openly. Besides, I don't like dancing by myself too much. It makes me feel silly.

"Wait a second, Bianca, are you feeling okay?" I grin and nod my head a little too quickly. Once again, we are chuckling. "To the dance floor, and beyond!" She sticks out her arm. I guess little brothers can be a bad influence. Who else would quote _Toy Story_. Well, I would. And I don't have a little brother. Just three younger monkeys and Amy. Did I say monkeys?

Once we get to the 'dance floor', I see Amy chatting with some guy I've never seen before. And surprise, surprise, right beside them, is the sulky (but not bad) looking excuse for a human that ran into me. And guess what he's holding, practically examining. None other than an avocado canapé thing.

I tug at Sam's arm and motion in Amy's direction. She raises one eyebrow at the sight and turns to look at me.

"Well, well, well, maybe he does have at least one friend, or he's just standing there pretending to be the statue of the angry canapé." Suddenly, his eyes are on us. Discreetly, we watch him say a word to his… friend, and nod slightly towards us. In consequence, Amy looks over as well and sees us.

"Bianca, Sam, come over here," she beckons. Begrudgingly, we drag our feet over to her.

"Hey Amy," says Sam.

"Hey Sam," Amy replies and then gestures towards the guy she was talking to. "Amy, Sam, this is Alexander Wesley, and his friend, Nicholas Halding. Alex, Nick, this is my twin sister Bianca, and her friend Samantha Campbell." This is going to be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N**__: Hey, would you look at that, it's a chapter! Believe it or not, this story is not forgotten. But, truth be told, my attention span isn't very good for writing. I had this chapter half written for a while, but I just now managed to sort of finish it. The fun thing is that classes start in a week. That could mean two things: I write more (due to the fun of public transportation), or I write less, due to my 5 classes…_

_Also, you are likely to notice a change of style... that wasn't really intended _:-

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Alex eagerly extends his hand toward me, and I shake it.

"Ah, the famous twin. You are majoring in art, aren't you?" I nod, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Well, actually, I don't really know yet. I've just been taking random classes to see what I like." He grins and turns towards Sam, shaking her hand as well. Then, I notice him looking at Nick expectantly. When Nick realizes the look he is receiving, he extends his hand towards Sam and me silently.

Breaking the odd silence, Sam says "We had a little encounter with Nick earlier this evening, actually." Suddenly, I feel my face heat up slightly.

Sam, please stop that, I'm begging you. I sneak a look at Nick, and see him perfectly composed. Go figure.

"Bianca and I were walking with the exact same thing Nick has in his hands now, when Bianca ran into him… or maybe the other way around." Sam, shut up. "The result was quite interesting, as you can imagine." Sam turned to face Alex directly.

"Your friend here ended up with avocado all over his face." Alex started laughing. You have to admit, had Nick not been such a… I don't know… it would have been funny for me too.

"But wait, that's not all. Can you guess what he did with the avocado?" Sam looked at Alex and Amy, who both shook their heads. "He just wiped it off his face and handed it back to Bianca!" The laughter came from everyone now… except me… and Nick. I look at him again. His indifferent look had turned into a scowl.

Okay, so mister constipated lawyer wannabe doesn't like it when people laugh at him. I guess I'll have to put that to use. There is no way I'm letting him get away with that attitude.

Eventually, the laughing stops and Amy and Alex are once again immersed in a deep conversation about something or other I don't even want to know about. The problem is that them chatting leaves Sam, Nick and me in a rather uncomfortable position. After all, Sam had tattled on my clumsiness and his… amiable qualities.

"So," begins Sam when she sees I'm not planning on opening my mouth, "what are you majoring in?"

"If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh?" That particular question gets me to perk up and study Nick more diligently. If you think about it, it is really very odd for someone to ask you that. But then again, maybe I just look like the type of person who laughs at everything. Or am I? In any case, his expression is puzzling, I can't really name it. Maybe it's like a mixture of pride and shame? Who knows… it does, however, get Sam to nod eagerly. I, on the other hand, just sort of turn away. I don't think I can really make that promise if the question has to be asked in the first place.

"Teaching… elementary education." Suddenly, I'm overpowered by an urge to laugh. Yeah, maybe I do tend to laugh at everything I find ridiculous. I manage to hold back the giggle, but from the look I get from both Nick and Sam, I guess my face must show some of my amusement. I mean, really, who would ever imagine Mister-I-can't-tolerate-the-word-boogies to want to teach, _teach_, little kids. He really does look like a stuffy lawyer. I pity those poor kids.

"Sorry about that," says Sam, eying me with a glare. "She's been a little too giggly lately, even if she _can_ half hold it in." Nick just sort of nods stiffly before turning away from us and resuming his scowling statue post by Alex.

I wonder if it's fun to stand there like that. Maybe it's just his way of daydreaming without anyone becoming suspicious. Well, except me. But then again, that's probably because when my thoughts start to run away with me, my blank stare is a dead giveaway (or so I've been told).

Not that I daydream much when I'm in public. I'd much rather do it when it's dark… like class. Okay, so that is public, but come on, some of the old hags they call teachers cam be so boring that a distraction is absolutely necessary.

Back to the party, Nick is playing statue, and Sam and I are just standing there. How so very exiting.

"Okay Bianca, let's go dance." I look at her, shaking my head slightly. I guess I was starting to go into daydream mode.

"Wha- oh, alright. That's what we were going to do anyhow before being interrupted." I turn to glare at Nick, expecting to find him staring at nothing. Instead, he is looking into my eyes with an unwavering gaze. It's creepy. I hope he never does that to his students, or they'll end up needing therapy.

Eventually, I find myself is a sea of dancing people. Some are dancing with partners, but a lot of girls are just dancing by themselves, since most guys present are lazy. Sam and I join the group of lone dancers. She, however, manages to catch the attention of one of the few non-lazy representatives of the male species.

She looks at me, so I shrug and smile at her, giving her permission to leave me by myself. Actually, that's what usually happens. For some reason, guys ask her to dance a lot more than me. So, since I'm not used to it, when someone does ask me, I go into shock. That, I think, scares them a bit, so they just dance a song or two and decide to make some excuse to leave. Not that I really care, since they all tend to be looking for a pretty face with no brain. Apparently, I'm neither.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, Bianca, was tonight that bad?" Amy asks me once we are home. I could give her a straight answer, but I decide to annoy her a bit instead.

"I believe, Amy," I say slowly, "that it is I who should be asking you questions. Tell me, what do you think of what's his na-" At this, Amy cuts me off instantly.

"Alex?" I giggle. I knew she'd get a bit worked up about me calling him that.

"Yes, Mr. Wesley indeed. Please, do tell." I grin at her and flop myself down on my bed, then prop myself up with my elbows.

"Oh, he's really nice… and funny, and sweet…" She sighs almost imperceptibly.

"You like him, don't you?" I ask, this time switching to my 'understanding' sister mode. She nods and blushes. "Well, he did seem nice to me, and it seems he actually listens to you," I continued, remembering he had asked me if I studied art. Amy must have told him that, and he didn't really have to remember. We both fall into a contemplative silence. Amy is probably thinking about Alex. I, on the other hand, about what Amy had asked me.

"Bianca, you never did answer my question, you know," Amy says after a few minutes.

"If you must know, it was pretty fun…" My voice fades out.

"But…?"

"But there was a certain someone who kinda left me a tad bit annoyed, if you know what I mean." All I'm really trying to do is avoid actually mentioning him.

"Certain someone? Wait, you mean Nick?" I nod. There was something about him that either annoyed or scared me. "Why? I mean, I heard about the avocado incident, but really, he's not that bad."

"Amy, nobody's bad according to you. But seriously speaking, there was something strange about him. First, he gets all mad at us for pretty much saying the word boogies. Then, he refuses to talk to Sam and me. As Sam said, he was the scowling statue of the avocado. The oddest thing, though, is when we were leaving to go dance, I looked his way for a second, and found he was staring at me, almost as if he was trying to melt me or something with his eyes."

"Bianca, I think you both just overreacted a bit. For goodness sake, he can't be that bad… maybe he was having a bad day or something. I think I'll ask Alex, after all, they're best friends." I shoot up at the mention of him.

"Ask Alex? When are you seeing him again?" Amy blushes once again.

"If you must know, tomorrow," she looks at her watch. "Well, technically, today."

"Woah, that was fast. Where are you guys meeting?"

"He's picking me up here, actually." This gets me to raise an eyebrow. I mean, really, what if he's really some sort of creepy stalker that wants to know exactly where you live so he acts all nice? Okay, so maybe Alex doesn't really fit the stalker stereotype, but you never know. "So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Now that you mention it, I think I'm going to call Nick and ask him out." I say sarcastically. Amy gets the picture though. I think she's moving too fast. She just gives me a "sweet of you, but bugger off" look. "Actually, I was thinking about actually figuring out what we are going to do during our trip."

Our family trip this summer is going to be quite interesting, if I do say so myself. We are going to South America, Chile, to be more specific. It's a long and skinny country that looks a rather bit squished by Argentina. Why are we going? Because we want to.

Actually, it's got to do with my dad's job. You see, my dad works in the wine industry. I don't really know what he does (okay, maybe I do, but I really don't like explaining). The thing is, he gets to travel quite a bit to wine producing places. So, that's where Chile comes in: they make wines. So, my dad went there a couple of years ago, and he really loved it. Now, it came up that he needs to go again for work, and he decided to coordinate his vacations and the trip. That means that we get two weeks traveling as a family doing sightseeing, and then another week with my dad working before returning to the States.

I'm really looking forward to it myself. I've been doing some reading about the places, and I've seen a ton of gorgeous photos. So, you can imagine the temptation that is for me, being a bit photography obsessed.

I don't really know what my other sisters think about the trip though. I have a feeling the only reason they're interested is because it'll give them some sort of bragging rights for having gone out of the country, even if to an unknown place.

Come to think of it, "my other sisters" have not been introduced. Well, you know there is me, then Amy, and we are both 20. Then, there is Molly, who is 18 and going to be a senior. She is really serious about everything she does, although she really needs to loosen up sometimes. She loves singing though, and is pretty good at it, if you can tolerate opera-like singing.

After Molly comes Kirsten, who is going to be a sophomore, as is Laurie. Now, don't get the idea that they are twins too, because they're not. Laurie is actually older, but her… straggling ways led her to being held back in 9th grade. If you ask me, that's just about the worst thing that could have happened, because with that, Kirsten started to try and follow in Laurie's footsteps. I mean, Kirsten didn't start trying to get held back (who would?) but she did start taking up Laurie's bad habits of partying too much (without Mom or Dad's permission), not doing homework and having a boyfriend a week. I'm sure Laurie had at least 20 boyfriends last year, if not more. I honestly don't know where she gets them. I mean, there isn't an endless supply stupid guys in a small town like ours. They have to turn out a bit smart _sometime_.

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_**A/N**: Woohoo! Another chapter… would you look at that!_

_Reviews please?_

_Should I post some sort of character sheet? I know it's kind of hard to keep track of the characters when you are reading several stories at once… even I get them confused XD_


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Well.. would you look at that, it's a chapter!_

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Dinner in my house is one of those sacred times. It's pretty much the only time we all get together and actually talk. That means that if you are in the house at dinner time, you must eat with everyone else, or have a decent excuse not to.

That also means that it's usually the time our parents make announcements of sorts, be it good or bad.

"Everyone, hush for a second, please," started my Dad as we were halfway through our dinner, and busy catching up with everyone's recent doings. I had been trying to extract information from Amy about her little outing with Alex earlier in the day, but she kept on making me shush. I guess the table is too public to discuss that particular event.

"Well, you all know we are going to Chile for our family vacations, right?" Dad stared at Laurie in particular, who just shrugged. "Anyhow, I've been informing myself on different matters, and I found a rather interesting thing." Laurie is picking at her food, not really paying attention, but everyone else at least pretends to look interested. With Dad, you never know. His interesting thing could be the fact that it's winter there while it's summer here (obviously), that there are no native monkeys, or anything like that. Some of his random facts are interesting, but others really are pointless.

"I found a small cruise ship that sails the whole length of Chile." Okay, that was definitely _not_ expected.

"We're going on a cruise?!" exclaims Laurie, finally snapping out of her stupidity induced stupor.

"A cruise? Dad, I thought you hated them," says Amy, ever the sensitive one. I can tell she likes the idea though.

"Well, Amy, to be honest, I've never been on one, so I can't say that, although the idea doesn't tend to appeal to me."

"Then why?" I pipe in. "Why does this one?"

"Because, unlike many others, it lasts two weeks, but you don't always have to spend the night there. You can go on excursions that take longer in some places. Also, it's a lot smaller than a normal cruise… so it's not _really_ a cruise." This is definitely odd. Here is my dad suggesting that instead of traveling ourselves, probably in a rented car, we take a _cruise_? I mean, if my dad likes the idea, it can't be bad, but I just never expected that from him.

"I've looked at the cruise information too," my mother says, finally breaking her contemplative silence. She had been looking at all of us with a smile. "And I really do think it's a good idea, that way we won't be stuck in a bus, or driving, which, considering the length of Chile, sounds pretty good to me." Ah, my mom, ever the logical one, even if she does have her flights of fancy sometimes, especially when it concerns any one of her daughter's love life.

"Besides, I think everyone will enjoy it, and you girls will probably make some _friends_." Friends… what she meant to say was find a boyfriend. Flight of fancy, right? I mean, why the crap would we happen to find a boyfriend on a cruise. Even if there is a nice guy, what are the chances of him being from the US, and much less living near us?

"Mom, I don't think anyone is really going to say no to a cruise, I was just surprised that it was Dad that suggested it. I expected him to say something about… bananas… or something." Everyone laughs at my comment, including Dad.

"Come on, Bianca, I don't really make such comments, do I?"

"Yes, you do," is the unified reply.

"So, it's settled, we are going on a cruise along the length of Chile?" asks Amy.

"Yes, I do believe we are," Dad replies with a smile.

"When?" asks Kirsten, finally opening her mouth with a useful question.

"We leave a week from now." Okay, now that is really strange. I doubt you can make reservations for a cruise a week before.

"Dad, you had this planned from before, didn't you?" There is no way my dad would have left something like that for last minute. I think he had it planned months ago.

"Well," he looks at me with an amused expression. "I can always trust you to figure me out, can't I?"

"Figure you out, Dad? Oh, come on, there is no way you would have left something like that for last minute. You probably have reservations from at least a month ago." He laughs and nods, not really needing to say more.

"So, what's for dessert?" I stare at Molly. She hasn't said anything about the cruise. I guess one of us isn't too happy with the idea, after all.

"Okay, Amy, spill it" We are getting ready for bed, and I can see that she wants to talk, but needs that little push from me. "Did you have fun with Alex?"

"Yeah, I did."

"What did you guys do?"

"Went out for ice cream..."

"Ah, so he already know of you great passion for frozen milk." She rolls her eyes at me, and I stick out my tongue. Amy really does love ice cream, especially chocolate. Although, if you really want to know, I'm probably just as obsessed with as Amy. We are twins, after all… out taste buds work similarly.

"Chat about anything in particular?"

"Not really, he just told me about himself, I told him about me. Pretty simple."

"You don't want to talk, do you?" Amy looks at me with a small, yet amused, smile and shakes her head.

"Oh, alright, then well change subject. What do you think of this cruise thing?"

"I like the idea, although I really am surprised Dad even considered it. Also, Molly didn't look too happy about it."

"Well, not that she ever does. I think she wanted to go to some music camp thing during the time we'll be in Chile."

"I think it's more than that. She looked pissed off even before Dad cleared up the date."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyhow, I'm glad we're going. I really like the idea." I had looked at the itinerary on the webpage right after dinner, and it really did sound good. The cool thing was that it let you travel by land or sea, depending on what you wanted to do in some places, and it stayed more days in the more interesting places.

"Of course you like the idea… although your poor camera is truly going to suffer from overuse." I laugh. Of course it's going to suffer. What else would I have it for?

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_Reviews please? Anything is welcome! Especially suggestions on how to improve!  
_

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	6. Chapter 6

It's the middle of summer, yet Amy and I are looking for coats. And not just any coats, but those super duper warm ones that have about 3 million pockets. All because we are going on a cruise. If you think about it, it really makes no sense. Evil hemispheres.

"Amy, I look like a blob." I'm standing in front of a mirror in one of those weird outlet stores that actually have coats year round. My hair, usually curly, is a tangled mess, and still dripping a bit from an earlier swim.

"A lovely blob. What did you expect from these coats?"

"Well, you don't look so… blob-ish!"

"Of course not, I'm not wearing a coat!" I give her a sisterly evil eye. Although she denies it, when she had the same coat on, she didn't look half as puffy up as I do.

"This is pointless, you know. There can't possibly be a coat that actually fits me _and_ looks decent." Amy just looks at me with a critical eye and delves back into the racks, until she finds something apparently interesting, which she hands to me. I take off the blob and toss it at her. Then, I shrug into the new find. I zip it up and look at myself in the mirror.

"Hey, this isn't too bad!" Finally, something that fits and looks okay!

"See, there is a coat that works for you." She pokes my chest. "So, come on, let's go pay so we can get the rest of the stuff we need." Amy, of course, found a nice coat within five minutes of stepping into the store.

oooooooooooo

"Is that all?" I ask Amy warily. We've gotten new coats, shoes, pants, gloves, bathing suits… and probably some other stuff I can't remember. All because of our famous vacations, which are now only two days away from starting.

"Not quite, there's one more thing we have to do." Amy doesn't seem to tire of shopping.

"And what would that be?"

"Oh, you'll see. Come on."

"Alright, but make it quick, _please_." I cross my arms as best I can with the bags hanging from them, but I follow Amy.

After a few minutes, I realize that Amy has led me to our favorite ice cream place. I start to smile a bit. That, however, stops when I see Amy greeting Alex, and by his side, the amazing human statue, none other than Mister Nicholas Halding.

"Amy…" I start whispering, teeth clenched, "why are they here?"

"Alex called me while you were in the bathroom. Asked if I wanted some ice cream. I said I was with you, he said it didn't mind, that he'd bring a friend," she replies happily, either oblivious or determined to ignore my discomfort. I just growl at her and, putting on my best effort for a not annoyed face, greet Alex and Nick. I guess my face is still pretty annoyed looking considering Alex pretty much shrinks back in fear and looks at Amy questioningly.

Nick, on the other hand, just shakes my hand offhandedly, and then resumes staring at his oh-so-interesting nails. (Well, I'm guessing they were interesting, considering the amount of attention they were receiving.)

Getting past the awkward greetings, we all take a seat at the table and pointlessly leaf through the menu (if you can call it that, really). Amy and I pretty much always get the same thing. Triple Chocolate and Orange Chocolate. Yes, we like chocolate. It's behind my comprehension that some people don't like chocolate, it's just… unnatural.

"So," starts Alex, trying to break the ice that I apparently caused. "How are you both doing?"

"Great," replies Amy with a huge smile. She should close he mouth a bit before it gets stuck like that." We just finished shopping for our vacations, since we leave on Friday night."

"Now that I think about it, I never did ask where you're going. So, would you care to share?" Alex uses a lighthearted tone that gets me to smile a bit again. "Especially considering Nick and I also leave on Friday." He winked. Amy just laughed and nodded.

"We're going to Chile. A cruise of sorts." At this, Nick looks away from his nails and straight at me, and Alex's mouth drops open. Amy just laughs nervously and asks "what?"

"Is the ship called Morning Glory, by any chance?" Okay, this is getting a bit creepy. Amy and I nod in unison. "And it leaves from Arica Sunday afternoon?" Again, we nod, although more dazedly.

"As strange as it may be, we are going on that same cruise." There are a few moments of silence, and then Amy and Alex resume their conversation. I, on the other hand, start to contemplate my suddenly changed vacation outlook. If Alex is going to hang out with Amy, that means that I will either spend two weeks without her, or have to stand the living statue. Maybe trying to talk to him wouldn't be a bad idea right about now.

"So, Nicholas, have you been to Chile before?" I start, trying to make conversation.

"Just once, when I was about 8 years old." Well, at least he replied.

"Why did you go?" Maybe I can get something more out of him. Even if it's just enough to reassure me that he's not _really_ a statue.

"My dad was working, and my mom didn't want to stay at home. So, I ended up going too." Hey, what do you know, he can form complete sentences that don't sound annoyed or angry!

"Do you remember anything?"

"Not really." There is a long moment of silence. Finally, I realize he has no intentions of continuing the conversation. So, I just stand up and go looking for a waiter, since nobody has managed to come to our little table. After a bit of waiting, signaling and pointing, I manage to get someone to take our orders.

When our orders get there, I attempt to start a conversation with Nick again.

"Do you have any siblings?" Nick looks surprised for a second, at the fact I'm yet again talking to him.

"Yeah, I have a little sister." His tone seems to soften up when he mentions her.

"What's her name?"

"Josephine. Josie. She's only ten."

"Wow, that's a big age difference." He nods and I see a hint of a smile on his face. "Is she going on the cruise too, or is it just you two?"

"Just us."

"Oh" Can't he even make some sort of effort to talk? Ask a question, add in a random fact? Comment on the ice cream? Why bother, really. He just doesn't want to talk.

I eat my ice cream as slowly as I can, seeing as to the fact that Amy and Alex are probably going to be chatting for quite a while. That means I get to either listen to them, or just retreat to my own little bubble, where I can pretend that there is nobody sitting across from me, boring holes into my skull with his eyes.

I am, however, saved from this dreadful fate by my mother, calling to ask why we weren't home yet, because she needed Amy and me for something or other.

Amy finished off her ice cream quickly, before regretfully standing up and saying goodbye.

"It was nice to see you, Amy, Bianca," says Alex, "and we'll see each other on the cruise." I see Alex turn towards Nick and jab his ribs.

"Yes, it was nice to see you both. Bye." Ten points for articulateness, please. And another ten for believability.

These vacations are definitely going to be more than I bargained for.

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_Two in a row? No way! You know what it's called? _**_Procrastination!_**

Reviews please??

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